Home
by Frozen Melons
Summary: 5 times an Avenger wished for a home and the 1 time it was granted. Hints of Thane, Clintasha, Pepperony, Steve/Peggy, and Bretty. No slash.


**AN: I've only watched all the movies once, so I hope everything is accurate!**

* * *

**1. Steve**

"_Home is where you belong."_

Steve Rogers was known to the public as the brave and valiant Captain America. The man himself, however knew himself as the kid from Brooklyn. Steve was in the training room punching the bags and constantly needing to reset them. Sweat flowed from his body as he took out another red bag. As the man went to go get another punching bag, he found that he had already destroyed them all. Steve sat on the benches in the room and rested his head in his hands.

It was a couple of days since his defrost. Steve lost his entire life when he was revived, and he wishes he hadn't. Bucky was dead, and so was every other of his World War 2 friends. The only one who was still alive was Peggy, and he couldn't bring his heart to call or even see her. It made his solider heart ache too much at the thought of her older, and him still young and fresh. Young wasn't the correct term anymore, he experienced so much in the war and lost too much more than any ordinary man.

He didn't want to live in this new century full of new gadgets and rude awakenings. Where had all the chivalry gone? Why did it bother people so much to just say hello to one another? He just wanted to have that dance with young Peggy, fight with his best friend Bucky, and watch whatever new gadget Howard invented. Most importantly, he wanted to go _home_. An old-fashioned solider like him could never belong in the 21 century.

* * *

**2. Clint**

"_Home is where you feel safe."_

He was supposed to be dead. He was supposed to be with his brother. He was supposed to be with his family. But no. His parents died in a car crash and he became, along with his brother, Barney, an orphan. He wasn't with Barney anymore however, ever since the Swordsman almost killed him. Ever since he discovered the circus was run by criminals.

Fortunately, his luck took the right path, seeing as he wasn't dead and wasn't wanted by anyone. He landed in SHIELD, the organization with a crappy acronym. Coulson took him in and he started putting his skills to good use. When he started, he was the target of many SHIELD agents' torment. It almost seemed no one wanted him, and it seemed no one trusted him.

His trust dwindled when he brought back Natasha Romanoff, the assassin he was supposed to kill. He knew she could become good, like he did, but no one else seemed to share his thoughts. Coulson supported him, but the council and the rest of SHIELD didn't. SHIELD had quickly turned against him once more when he found his room a big mess, and the subject of all the stronger agents' amusement. Fortunately, he was a skilled agent and escaped most of the rumbles they pulled him into.

Although he knew in the back of his mind that SHIELD would easily eliminate him, he never made any plans to withdraw from the organization. He knew as long as he worked at SHIELD, the more the council was itching to get rid of him, but he also knew, he doesn't have any home better than the "home" he had now. He wished for that safe haven he could depart to.

* * *

**3. Natasha**

"_Home is where you feel happiest."_

Natasha Romanoff, Russian assassin, and the most dangerous person one could meet. She melted the hearts of men, and then promptly cut their string of life. The one survivor of the Red Room, and the one with the massive red ledger. Natasha was attending a Russian banquet. She held a small glass of vodka in her hand as she wondered if she could ever wipe out the red in her ledger.

She felt like leaving Russia and her life as an assassin to begin a newer, happier one. Sometimes she wished her parents hadn't died and she hadn't been brainwashed by the Red Room. She swirled the clear liquid around. Suddenly, she heard a noise and looked up to where a brown haired man had just been. So, she was being watched and was decided to be taken out by an American man, she mused. She knew he was coming, she got tipped off weeks ago.

They both were aware of each others' presence, so she placed her glass down and walked out of the building for some "fresh air". She decided to test this man to see if he was foolish enough to take on _the _Black Widow. It was a bit chilly outside in the Russian air, but she was used to it and didn't show any signs of coldness in her thin, night-black dress. The red head felt his gaze on her as she walked. She knew she could take him out that second and leave no trace, but something in the back of her mind told her not too.

He made the first move. He fired an arrow at her and she quickly dodged it. Fortunately, he made the mistake of being even a few meters away from her. Natasha quickly grabbed his wrist and attempted to knock him out with a swift blow to his head. Before she could do that, he twisted out of her deadly grip and kicked her to the head. She hadn't met anyone as close to her game as he was, so she immediately regained her footing and lashed out against him.

They continued for ten minutes at most, until she had paused a half second too long and found herself staring at his sharp arrow. The Russian assassin breathed and stared at him, and waited for the string to be lifted.

Instead, he withdrew his bow and extended a hand saying, "Hi, I'm Clint Barton of SHIELD. Come join SHIELD."

She stared at him blankly, but of course she showed no emotion in her mask she played. 'Come join SHIELD'? This guy was certainly nuts. He had just offered to take her in. It was like asking to be killed.

When Natasha didn't reply, Clint repeated, "Hi, I'm Clint Barton of SHIELD. Would you liked to join SHIELD?"

Instead of replying, Natasha tried again to land a blow to knock him out. Once again, the two engaged in a fight until she stared at the arrow aimed at her once more.

"How about this, join SHIELD or die," he said as if they were just old friends having coffee together instead of two deadly assassins determined to take the other out.

The voice in the back of her head urged her to join him. She thought about her choices now. It seemed to be the right thing to do, the thing to do if she wanted to wipe that red out. It seemed like a fresh new door, opening up to a new life of redemption. She didn't exactly believe in miracles, but she felt he had just taught her one.

"Yes, I'll join," she told him quietly.

Hopefully, this new chance would bring her to the happy home she was longing for, but of course, if he asked about it, she would deny it and possibly break one of his bones.

* * *

**4. Bruce**

"_Home is where you feel welcome."_

Being a fugitive on the run wasn't the best time for staying at home, even if he had one before the incident. The closest to a home was when he was with Betty, but that was short lived. He still misses her, of course, but he has learned to let go. It was for the best. It was for the best that she moved on too, so she could live a normal life.

He was currently in Calcutta and fairly sure no one, especially Ross, would find him there. He worked as a doctor in the slums, hoping to help others. It was also that he didn't want to be in populated areas incase he has an incident and ends up hurting others. He's sure no one wants another Harlem incident anyway. With those facts in mind, he knows he needs to leave Calcutta once he finishes with the poor people here.

He sighs as he starts to boil a pot of water to sterilize instruments in. He can never stay in one place for too long, it is never safe for him to do that, so he knows he should make use of himself while he's here. Healing others was his only goal besides not getting caught. Bruce Banner has never felt welcome when he was a child either. He yearns for a home badly, and the feeling felt so close that he wanted to just yell and scream for it to come. His heart aches for company and he craves for a home to be welcomed in.

* * *

**5. Thor**

"_Home is where you are loved."_

Thor is a banished prince. His father banished him for being unworthy and he proved that by being unable to wield Mjolnir. Thor had never felt so angry and alone before. Everyone he knew had basically turned on his just because he took revenge on the Frost Giants. On top of all that, he had gotten news that Odin was dead and Frigga forbid his return.

The only thing Thor had left was the petty mortals. With himself being a mortal, Thor was unhappy beyond belief. Jane Foster was a good comfort in his time of need, but no one in all the nine realms could replace the loneliness he felt. His beautiful mother had abandoned him, it seemed.

Midgard was his only happiness at this point. Midgard's technology and ways confused him much. Thor didn't feel like he used to, happy, loving wars, and thirsting for conquest. Was this how mortals always felt? Thor couldn't help but feel a little sad for them. They weren't as large as Asgardians or as powerful as sorcerers, yet they managed to survive much. Thor wanted to help them for the first time ever. All these swirling thoughts passed through the prince's head as he lay on his bed. He wanted to prove his worth, help the mortals, and most of all, go home.

* * *

**+1. Tony**

"_Home is where you live."_

Tony Stark always felt he had a home, even if his father wasn't paying attention to him. Besides, he was a genius billionaire who had the lovely company of Pepper Potts and Rhodey. He had many houses, but wherever Pepper was, was his real home. His life was always quiet, so he build robots and AIs to keep him company. Heck, even JARVIS was a suitable replacement for an real human being. Tony knew it wasn't exactly healthy for him to have only two real friends, but in a world where enemies were everywhere, it wasn't exactly easy to place his trust somewhere random.

Maybe that was the reason for inviting all the Avengers to stay at his tower, to gain their trust. Or perhaps it was deep down, he knew they all wanted, no, they _needed _the one thing he had that they didn't. Or maybe Pepper was hard to refuse when she wanted him to get some friends.

For sure he wanted Bruce to live with him. That guy was a genius. Tony seriously wanted him to stay over at Stark (ahem, Avengers) Towers and speak English with him. It was a relief to have finally found a man who could talk on his level _and _tolerate the awesomeness that is Tony Stark. Besides, Tony wanted to help him come to good terms with the other guy and just _live_ life instead of hiding out in who-knows-where. Maybe it was also because Tony was amazed at Bruce's ability to keep control. Whatever the reason, the billionaire persuaded the curly haired man to stay.

Clint was an amazing prankster once he let Tony into his inner circle of awesome. Being a deadly assassin had its amazing perks, Tony remarked. They would have a whole lot of fun pranking and annoying all the occupants of the Avengers Tower. Natasha was scary, to say the least. For one thing, she was a Russian assassin with deadly glares. For another thing, she kept reminding everyone how she could just kill you without a single trace. This thought left Tony frightened for his life every time he saw her lingering in the room. (Not that he'll ever admit it.) The whole Natalie was Natasha thing broke all of his trust toward the Russian, but of course, Tony could never be sure who to trust in this crazy world anymore.

Steve, well he was the perfect one. The goody two shoes. Everything Tony despised, especially after he realized his dad was too busy looking for Captain America instead of paying attention to him. Okay, maybe Tony did respect the man a _little _after the battle of Manhattan, but seriously, this was the man his father spent his life looking for? After Steve's jibe at him in the helicarrier, it caused Tony to rethink himself. _I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. _It hurt Tony, but he masked his emotions before anyone could notice it. Tony knew that was the public image he put out to the world. He also _knew _he would never be that man again. Never since Afghanistan. Never again. The only thing he probably liked about Steve was his confusion around anything modern. It made Tony more amused after every snarky retort he threw at the super solider.

Thor was interesting and his naivety was amusing to Tony. Seriously, what _isn't _interesting about an alien from outer space? Especially one who didn't understand what a toaster was and jumped at the sound of JARVIS every time? Even if his adopted brother was an evil mass murdering bag of cats, Thor was still plenty of fun. Tony had almost died laughing when the god of thunder told the Avengers' the story of him getting run over by a car _twice _by the same person.

The first day of Avengers living was boring. Everyone had been staying out of each others' way the entire day. Tony had been science-ing with his "science bro", Clint was busy freaking people out by dropping out of the vents at random times, Natasha was off killing the training room, Steve was knocking the sense out of some brand new punching bags, and Thor had been in the kitchen marveling all the Midgardian wonders.

Tony was still fixing his suit with Bruce when Steve popped into their private lab and said politely, "Dr. Banner, Stark, it's time for dinner. Come down to the dining room now."

"No thanks Capsicle," Tony said smoothly as he continued to work on his suit.

"I'm going, Tony. It's been awhile since I last ate," Bruce commented. "You should come too."

"Fine," Tony huffed as dropped his "toys".

Truthfully, he also felt hungry, but he didn't want to see the rest of his "team". As the two made their way over to the dinner table, they smelled something absolutely delicious. There was savory meat smell in the air mixed with a tangy tomato scent. When the two scientists arrived at the dining table, there were two steaming plates of spaghetti waiting to be eaten.

Tony picked up his fork and twirled it playfully in the spaghetti. Once he put it in his mouth, he savored the rich sauce and slippery noodles.

"Who made this?" he questioned, mouth full of delicious spaghetti.

"I did," Steve said. "Do you like it?"

"This spaghetti, I like it!" Thor announced to everyone.

There were murmurs of approval as everyone continued to eat Steve's amazing spaghetti. Silence stretched on as the plates of spaghetti slowly diminished.

At last, Tony broke the dull silence, "You know what we should do? We should have a snowball fight!"

"Really? It's dark out, how are we supposed to fight without seeing?" Clint grumbled.

"How about this, we play with night vision goggles?" Tony said gleefully.

"No thanks, Stark. I would rather sleep than play one of your ridiculous games," Natasha objected.

"I, for one, think it's a great team building exercise, but like Clint said, it's a little late for that," Steve argued.

"How about we just watch a movie instead?" Bruce spoke softly.

"Fine, let's watch The Hobbit, it just came out," Tony smiled.

"What is this movie we shall watch?" Thor puzzled as the six Avengers made their way to the couch.

As Bruce explained movies to the confused Asgardian, Clint made popcorn and inserted the movie. The night was filled with silent fun as Clint and Natasha pointed out flaws in their poses. Thor would occasionally tell them of creatures that were similar to those in the movie, and Steve would refill the popcorn constantly.

Half way through the movie, Tony accidentally spilled popcorn all over Natasha. The red head immediately tackled the genius, and Steve tried to pry the two apart.

"Stop it you two!" Steve yelled as he forced Natasha from Tony.

"He spilled buttery popcorn all over me!" she screeched as Tony ran and hid behind Clint.

"Tell your girlfriend to stop trying to kill me!" Tony squeaked from behind Clint.

"WE'RE NOT TOGETHER!" the two assassins yelled as Tony backed away from both of them.

"I was sure Lady Natasha and Hawk were together as well," Thor commented.

Bruce rubbed his temples the two assassins began chasing both Thor and Tony around the tower. Natasha was hot on Tony's tail while Clint's eyes sparkled with murder.

Steve approached Bruce and asked, "Should I be doing something?"

Bruce shook his head and assured, "No, besides, this way Tony can get some exercise."

"Traitor," Tony growled as he ran past Bruce and Steve.

The super solider and the man with breathtaking anger issues chuckled softly as Clint and Natasha resorted to spraying Thor and Tony with water.

The run and chase game continued for another hour until Fury's face popped up on the TV screen and interrupted, "Why the heck are my top SHIELD agents chasing a drenched Stark and a screaming Thor?"

Everyone paused to look at Fury. Tony and Thor looked of total relief while Clint and Natasha glared at him.

"There is nothing to worry about, sir," Steve responded.

Fury sighed. He knew he could trust Steve the most, and if he said there wasn't anything to worry about, then there isn't anything to worry about. Sometimes Fury wondered what he did to deserve this mayhem he saw every time he checked up on the Avengers. After Fury departed from the screen, everyone calmed down. They continued watching The Hobbit, but this time they decided not to bring the popcorn. After the movie had ended, the Avengers played The Lord of the Rings marathon.

The Avengers were silent the rest of the night. They all started to drift off once two o'clock came rolling around. Thor was the first to give into sleep. He lay spread out on the floor in front of the couch everyone was resting upon. Bruce was the next to drift. The doctor fell asleep with his head resting on the couch pillows. He looked peaceful and young as he slept. Clint came next. He had fallen asleep on top of the couch. How he managed to sleep there baffled Tony. Natasha was the next to go, but she was reluctant until Steve and Tony persuaded her to relax in _his _intruderless tower. She had been sleeping upright, but the weight of her head pulled her toward the left. Clint's hand came in contact with her head as she slumped to his dangling hand. Her feet were propped up against Bruce's torso.

Tony looked at the mass of Avengers sleeping on the small couch. He'd need to get a bigger one soon if they were going to do this every single day. He looked to his right and saw Bruce slightly drooling onto the sandy colored couch. Tony made a mental note to bug him about it. He looked to his left and saw Clint's fingers twirling Natasha's fiery red hair. They both looked like they were fast asleep, but Tony knew they were ready to pounce at the smallest sound. Steve sat to the left of Natasha. Steve was still awake as he did a head count of the Avengers. He yawned and his eyes drooped slightly. The solider jerked awake when he closed them. He looked to his right and saw Tony mouthing, "Go to sleep." Steve smiled and let the long awaited sleep drown his conscious.

Tony smiled as he saw all of his teammates, no _family_, sleep peacefully together. It was a warm sight to see. The last awake Avenger yawned as he closed his eyes, preparing to go to sleep. He slept with a smile on his face, for his dysfunctional family were finally content with the world. Steve felt he belonged with the team of mismatched heroes. Clint felt safe in the Tower. Natasha felt the most happy she ever felt in her entire life with her wonderful family, not that she'll ever admit it to the curious world. Bruce finally felt welcome in the tower instead of always being feared and hated. Thor felt loved by the small humans he called his new family. Tony felt even more at home then he ever did because of his time bomb team. The Avengers had finally found a _home_.


End file.
